MFI Archives

Mountain Film Institute archive's goal is to store digitized copies of
as many possible catalogued films to ensure preservation and obtain
information for their study and dissemination.

Films at riskAT RISK OF DISAPPEARING

Cinema's history is ever facing the difficulty of rescuing and preserving originals. There are many factors that have threatened, in the past and nowadays, to destroy and vanish film originals: Fragile support to cinematography, war conflicts, production companies closure or even the underrating of many cinematographic pieces. As a result, many of the films disappear for ever and many others are threatened to undergo the same destiny.

Risk of oblivionMOUNTAIN FILM, A MINOR GENRE

With mountain film and documentary it's even a bigger problem as, in comparison to commercial cinema, these are films with small commercial impact, a discrete distribution and limited exhibition. It seems the lesser commercial repercussion the bigger the threat of oblivion. This is the case with many antique films but also with more current films that given they haven't been distributed commercially or by internet are under the risk of falling into oblivion and be lost forever. These are some typical examples of films at risk:

• Films of the first decades of cinema. In many cases they weren't even distributed in domestic formats.

• Films in disappeared archives of cinematographic production companies that went bankrupt.

• Films from before video times, often shot in 16mm, and that only had a few copies to be distributed in Film festivals or other institutional events.

• In general all films without a commercial distribution and impossible to find in the market nowadays.

These are only a few of the typical examples of films at risk, but really, potentially, any film is at risk of disappearing someday. This is why conservation work of cinema archives from all over the world and the Mountain Film Institute's efforts are so important.

MOUNTAIN FILM INSTITUTE ARCHIVE'S WORK

RESCUE, DIGITIZE, PRESERVE

Digital archivesTHE BEST WAY TO PRESERVE ORIGINALS

MFI's aspiration is to have as many digitized copies of catalogued films as possible, as we believe this is the only way to ensure their existence and also be able to obtain the information for their study and dissemination. Our collection started out from Josep Maria March Cabello's private collection and is constantly growing with new titles we include as a result of our research and also collaborators' contributions from all over the world. All films that arrive in MFI are digitized and deposited in our centralized digital archives to ensure preservation and also for an efficient consultation.

Private archivesRESPECTING COPYRIGHTS

MFI archives are private. Currently they aren't open to general public and cannot be consulted. We scrupulously respect authors' rights. Pieces in the archive won't be distributed, copied or exhibited, except when there is a specific agreement with authors. It's possible, in future, we open the archive to certain researchers or other organizations, but always respecting authors' will.

OTHER SOURCES FOR MFI ARCHIVES

COLLABORATORS' CONTRIBUTIONS

CollaborationsACTIVE PARTICIPATION IN THE MFI PROJECT

MFI works to establish collaborations with authors, production companies and enthusiasts from all over the world to try to include in its archives as many catalogued pieces as possible. Often, many of the pieces are only in the author's hands and the only way to obtain a copy of the film is with a direct agreement with the film-makers.

If you are in possession of cinematographic material you believe may be interesting to go into our archives and wish to collaborate with the Mountain Film Institute, you may contact us via the Contact form or by visiting our Collaborators page. We'll be very grateful and address your proposition with great interest to try and find a collaboration agreement.